The announcement was made by Alloya CEO Charles W. Furbee in a letter to members on the Warrenville, Ill.-based Alloya's website.

"CenCorp members will now vote on the merger," he said, adding the vote is set for Thursday, April 4. It is anticipated that the merger would occur by the end of April.

"Assuming a positive vote from CenCorp members, this merger will create improved value for the memberships of both corporates in terms of enhanced strength and access to additional products and services," he said in an e-mail to News Now.

CenCorp CEO Bill Walby, who will become CEO of the new organization, said in an e-mail statement to News Now that "the merger will build value through increased scale, market synergies and enhanced capabilities for the long term, all of which would occur faster than either corporate could generate on its own."

"CenCorp members would convert to Alloya systems later this year, with minimal impact to current Alloya members," said the letter on the website. "Some anticipated system changes to accommodate CenCorp practices will result in enhancements to our systems."

The letter also noted the merger would build value through "increased scale, elimination of redundancies and additional financial strength." Alloya has more than $1.4 billion in assets, and CenCorp has more than $1.37 billion, Alloya told News Now.

The corporates will discuss the merger "at a high level" during the next transparency webinar, to be held Thursday at 11 a.m. EDT/10 a.m. CDT, Furbee said.

The combined corporate will have a membership of nearly 20% of the nation's credit unions. It will retain Alloya's federal charter and name. Alloya will remain headquartered in Warrenville, Ill., and operate from three locations: Warrenville; Albany, N.Y.; and Southfield, Mich.

Board and committee representation will reflect the combined membership, with the initial board including seven members of Alloya's board and four members of CenCorp's board.